The following appears on Fortune.com

By Jeff John Roberts – On the face of it, the Supreme Court is about to hear what sounds like a simple dispute: When can a printer company forbid others from refilling its toner cartridges?

But this ordinary-sounding patent case carries profound implications for retailers and resellers across the U.S. economy, and has led dozens of scholars, public interest groups, and companies from IBM to Costco to weigh in. The case, known as Impression Products v. Lexmark International, will be argued before the Supreme Court at 11 am ET on Tuesday.

Here’s a plain English guide to what you need to know about the case.

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Do your customers really need an entire fleet of 11×17-inch devices?